General exam question G4B02
Subelement G4, AMATEUR RADIO PRACTICES· Group G4B
Which of the following is an advantage of an oscilloscope versus a digital voltmeter?
- A.An oscilloscope uses less power
- B.Complex impedances can be easily measured
- C.Greater precision
- D.Complex waveforms can be measured (correct answer)
WhyAn advantage of an oscilloscope over a digital voltmeter is that complex waveforms can be measured. A digital voltmeter reports a single numeric value, but an oscilloscope traces the actual shape of a signal over time, so it's the tool that can show and measure complex, non-sinusoidal waveforms a meter can't represent at all, answer D. A scope doesn't inherently use less power than a meter, doesn't directly read complex impedance, and a good digital meter generally beats a scope's readout on raw numeric precision, so A, B, and C don't hold up.
Published 2026-08-28 · Last updated 2026-08-28 · Question text is verbatim from the 2023-2027 NCVEC Element 3 pool (public domain); the explanation above is original writing, see our methodology.
Related questions
- G4B01What item of test equipment contains horizontal and vertical channel amplifiers?
- G4B03Which of the following is the best instrument to use for checking the keying waveform of a CW transmitter?
- G4B04What signal source is connected to the vertical input of an oscilloscope when checking the RF envelope pattern of a transmitted signal?
- G4B05Why do voltmeters have high input impedance?
- G4B06What is an advantage of a digital multimeter as compared to an analog multimeter?